ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 805

lighting of good quality was taken as an aspect that would balance productivity, human needs,
economic issues and environmental issues with favorable outcomes.
Daylighting and Artificial Lighting
Lighting is of two types considering the source; daylighting and artificial lighting. The source of
daylighting is the sun, therefore the amount of light would vary depending on the weather conditions whereas for artificial lighting there is a constant amount of light received and it can be
controlled by the occupants. Nonetheless, the artificial light does not take into account of the
non-visual characteristics of light such as its effect on mood, productivity and comfort (Webb
2006). Van Bommel (2006) states that lighting affects the body rhythms for biological process and
artificial lights disrupts these rhythms which will cause bad health effects if it takes place over
a long period of time. Many studies that materialize the fact that daylighting would induce less
stress on occupants compared to artificial lighting has been conducted throughout the decades
(Van Bommel 2006). Brand identity is also an aspect of marketing in retail stores. Schielke (2010)
points out that there is a distinct relation between brand identity and architectural lighting; that
the lighting would create a certain imagery of the space to customers and make them want to
visit the space again which is a good marketing strategy for retailers. The California Energy Commission (2003) has provided evidence through its technical report that a chain retailer has had
higher sales due to the fact that his store was daylit. Seventy three stores were studied and it was
seen that over 90% of the shoppers who did not even notice that there was daylighting in the
store felt that the stores were cleaner and more spacious.
Color of Light and Performance
Colour of the light has a great impact on the mood and cognitive performance on individuals of
different age, sex and gender (Kenz 2001). Studies by Kenz and Kerr (2000) prove that the younger
females and male adults (about 23 years old) show better performance than older adults (around
65 years old) in White lighting. Babin et al. (2003) pointed out that various colour and light has
an effect on the customers on price fairness. It has also been studied by Yildirim et al. (2007) that
males are more evaluative in their environments than females and younger generation has a positive tendency to indoor color attributes. Lighting plays an important role in building environments which then further leads to different types of lighting to be used to maximize effect but
Veitch (1997) argues that even if the lighting does have psychological effects, no different effect
would be observed if the fluorescent lamp types were different, which are mainly used nowadays
in retail stores. Wang et al. (2013) states that dynamic LED light has an effect on the atmospheric
perception; which is a great factor for retail outlets as it might increase the customers’ mood for
shopping. It is also seen that greenery in a store indoor environment can bring feelings of relaxation to the customer and reduce stress (Brengman et al. 2012).
In the survey, in terms of daylighting effect on customer perception on the environment, it was
seen that most people did not realize if the retail store was daylit but on the contrary the customers enjoyed food courts in retail stores where good view and daylight was provided. Through field
observation, it was noted that in some spaces daylighting led to glare and unwanted heat gain
due to poor design implementations. More survey needs to be conducted to understand the level
of interference lighting would have on the customers in retail store located in the UAE.
In summary, visual comfort and lighting can help in increasing business in a retail store and give
customers a relaxing and comfortable experience, eventually giving gain to both the retailer and
the customer if practiced in an integrated manner considering other design factors involved. The
UAE has a vast number of retail stores. It is seen that no particular guidelines are provided for an

Impact of retail indoor environment on consumer wellbeing and performance

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